Changes from Annual Energy Outlook 2013

Updated Annual Energy Outlook 2014 Reference case (April 2014):

Updated costs and improved representation of residential lighting applications, including wider representation of light emitting diode (LED) lighting and outdoor lighting, based on the 2009 RECS and two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports [6 , 7].

Revised handling of the regional efficiency standard for residential furnaces, based on an ongoing legal appeal of the standard. The regional standard scheduled to take effect in 2013 is not included in AEO2014 because of a court challenge and proposed settlement that would vacate the standard in question and require DOE to develop new standards for residential furnaces.

Revised commercial capacity factors governing annual usage of major end-use equipment, based on an EIA-contracted analysis.

Revised outlook for industrial production to reflect the effects of increased shale gas production and lower natural gas prices, resulting in faster growth for industrial production and energy consumption. The industries primarily affected include energy-intensive bulk chemicals and primary metals, both of which provide products used by the mining and other downstream industries, such as fabricated metals and machinery. The bulk chemicals industry is also a major user of natural gas and, increasingly, hydrocarbon gas liquid (HGL) feedstocks [9].

Expanded process flow models for the cement and lime industry and the aluminum industry, allowing technologies based on energy efficiency to be incorporated, as well as enhancement of the cement model to include renewable fuels.

Transportation

Implemented a new approach to vehicle miles traveled (VMT) projections for light-duty vehicles (LDVs), based on an analysis of VMT by age group and the aging of the driving population over the course of the projection, which resulted in a significantly lower level of VMT growth after 2018 compared with AEO2013. On balance, demographic trends (such as an aging population and decreasing rates of licensing and travel among younger age groups) combine with employment and income factors to produce a 30% increase in VMT from 2012 to 2040 in AEO2014, compared with 41% growth in AEO2013.

Adopted a new approach for estimating freight travel demand by region and commodity for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), rail, and domestic marine vessels, as well as updated fuel efficiencies for freight rail and domestic marine vessels.

Updated handling of flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) fuel shares to better reflect consumer preferences and industry response. FFVs are necessary to meet the renewable fuels standard (RFS), but the phaseout of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) credits for their sale, as well as limited demand from consumers, reduces their market penetration.

Revised network pricing assumptions based on benchmarking of regional natural gas hub prices to historical spot natural gas prices, using flow decisions based on spot prices, setting variable tariffs based on historical spot natural gas price differentials, and estimating the price of natural gas to the electric power sector off a netback from the regional hub prices [10].

Allowed secondary flows of natural gas out of the Middle Atlantic region to change dynamically in the model based on relative prices, which enables a larger volume of natural gas from the Middle Atlantic’s Marcellus formation to supply neighboring regions.

Developed the estimated ultimate recovery of tight oil and shale gas on the basis of county-level data [11].

Improved representation of the dynamics of U.S. gasoline and diesel exports versus U.S. demand, through adoption of endogenous modeling [12].

Added representation of the U.S. crude oil distribution system (pipelines, marine, and rail), to allow crude oil imports to go to logical import regions for transport to refineries, which enables crude imports and domestic production to move among refining regions and keeps imports of Canadian crude oil from flowing directly to U.S. Gulf refiners [13].

Revised production outlook for nonpetroleum other liquids—gas-to-liquids, coal-to-liquids (CTL), biomass-to-liquids, and pyrolysis [14]—with lower production levels than in AEO2013, as more recent experience with these emerging technologies indicates higher costs than previously assumed [15].

Revised approach to reserve margins, which are set by region on the basis of North American Electric Reliability Corporation/Independent System Operator requirements [17], and to capacity payments, which are calculated as a combination of levelized costs for combustion turbines and the marginal value of capacity in the electricity model.

Revised handling of spinning reserves, with the required levels set explicitly, depending on the mix of generating technologies used to meet peak demand by region, to allow better representation of capacity requirements and costs in regions or cases with high penetration of intermittent loads.

Revised assumptions concerning the potential for unannounced retirements of nuclear capacity in several regions to better reflect the impacts of rising operating costs and low electricity prices. Announced nuclear retirements are already incorporated as planned.

Updated handling of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) [18] covering the electric power sector, to reflect potential upgrades of electrostatic precipitators, requirements for plants with dry scrubbers to employ fabric filters, and revised costs for retrofits of dry sorbent injection and fabric filters.

Updated treatment of the production tax credit (PTC) for eligible renewable electricity generation technologiesâ€”consistent with the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) passed in January 2013 [19]—including revision of PTC expiration dates for each PTC-eligible technology, to reflect the concept of projects being declared “under construction” as opposed to being placed “in service,” and extension of the expiration date of the PTC for wind generation projects by one year.

Future analyses using the AEO2014 Reference case will start from the version of the Reference case released with this complete report.

4. Navigant Consulting, Inc., Analysis and Representation of Miscellaneous Electric Loads in the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) (Washington, DC: May 2013), prepared for U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

5. Navigant Consulting, Inc., Analysis and Representation of Miscellaneous Electric Loads in the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) (Washington, DC: May 2013), prepared for U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

9. Growing production of wet natural gas and lighter crude oil has focused attention on natural gas liquids (NGL). EIA has developed and adopted a neutral term—"hydrocarbon gas liquid" (HGL)—to equate the supply (natural gas plant liquids [NGPL] + liquefied refinery gases [LRG]) and market (NGL + refinery olefins) terms. For example, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is currently defined by EIA as ethane, propane, normal butane, and isobutane and their olefins (ethylene, propylene, butylene, and isobutylene). This definition is inconsistent with definitions used by other federal agencies, international organizations, and trade groups, in that it implies that all the products are in a liquid state (ethane typically is not) and are used in the same way (higher-value olefins are used differently). Part of the HGL implementation redefines LPG to include only propane, butane, and isobutane and to exclude ethane and refinery olefins. The tables included in AEO2014 have been relabeled to conform to this newly adopted definition.

10. Estimating natural gas prices to the electricity generation sector based on hub prices, rather than the citygate prices as was done in prior years, is a better reflection of current market conditions, in which many large natural gas consumers are outside the citygate.

11. After accounting for infrastructure constraints and general development patterns, oil and natural gas resources in "sweet spots" are developed earlier than lower quality resources, based on net present value.

12. High U.S. crude oil production and low fuel costs have given U.S. refiners a competitive advantage over foreign refiners, as evidenced by high U.S. refinery utilization and increasing U.S. exports of gasoline and diesel fuel.

14. Pyrolysis is defined as the thermal decomposition of biomass at high temperatures (greater than 400°F, or 200°C) in the absence of air.

15. EIA undertook detailed assessments of these technologies in order to characterize key parameters considered in the model, such as capital cost, contingency factors, construction time, first year of operation, plant life, plant production capacity, efficiency, and feedstock and other operating costs.

16. When considering CO2 EOR, the oil and gas supply module assesses a location and the availability and price of CO2 from power plants and CTL facilities. The electric power plants now consider the market size and prices for CO2 captured. The refining module assesses a location and the availability and price of CO2 from CTL facilities. The power sector now assesses opportunities for plants equipped with carbon capture and storage, as the CO2 produced at those facilities can be used for EOR operations. This enables the model to solve dynamically for the capture of CO2 and the production of oil from anthropogenic CO2 EOR.